This book was a total mess. The characters were all over the place. Some jumped in some jumped out. Plot holes were conveniently opened and closed with no rhyme or reason. I almost DNF'ed but stuck with it because of the good reviews. The police procedural had no basis in reality or fiction for that matter. And the misogyny was so heavy handed it didn't help the character building at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillin Audio for the ARC

The Girl Who Lied (Chief Maggie Riley Book 1)
by Shannon Hollinger, narrated by Amelia Sciandra

More than one person is hiding in the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove. Chief Maggie Riley has a past she wants no one to know about and that's why she took a job so below her skill level in this remote town with nothing much going on. Her boyfriend also has his own secrets but the two of them let sleeping dogs lie knowing they each have things they don't want to discuss. They aren't the only ones with secrets but all those secrets may come tumbling out of hiding when Maggie discovers a body on her drive home. Not only that, there is a teenager at the scene of the body, horrified and unable to answer any questions about what may have happened out in the woods.

We get to see things from several POVs, not just from Maggie, the boyfriend and the teenager and all those POVs worked well with story. There is so much more going on than it appears on the surface. So much unsaid, so much hidden, so much omitting of important information that could bust open the lives of several people. I would have listened to the audiobook without stopping except I needed to sleep. The audiobook narrator, Amelia Sciandra, has a girlish voice that I thought might be distracting for all the various characters but she did a good job of voicing everyone and I hope she is back for the narration of the next two books.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

4.5 ⭐️ Thanks NetGalley and Shannon Hollinger for this ARC! This was such a great crime thriller! Multiple POV’s, lots of twists and turns that get revealed throughout the book, and leaves you wanting more. The audiobook version was done very well - the narrator did well with the different POV’s! I tend to prefer to listen to mystery/thriller books because my imagination goes wild if I physically read the book. HOWEVER- I need to know what Maggie is up to next, and books 2 & 3 aren’t available in audiobook yet. So requesting the ebook ARC for books 2 & 3 will have to happen!

Shared on Goodreads 7/12, sharing on Instagram 7/13 or 14

I’d like the narrator to have more distinction between the female characters.
Having said that. I found the story engaging and exciting. Looking forward to reading more

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the free audio book in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Amelia Sciandra who does a great job with the multiple narrators and many characters.

I really enjoyed this suspenseful mystery and am surprised that this is the first book by this author! I will be following her to read the next installment. I was immediately drawn into the story from the very beginning and the storytelling definitely held my interest. This is a fast paced, character driven novel told from multiple POV's. It has everything that you want in a book: police procedure, murder, psychological drama, secrets, and deception!

Chief Maggie Reilly is a very over-qualified chief of police in a small town in Maine, running far from her past life as a Florida detective. When a murder happens in her town, not only is she faced with a bloody scene but there is a young girl, Heather, standing near him screaming. Things are not what they appear and only get more complicated as the story progresses.

The characters are well developed, the story moves at a good pace and held my interest to the end! Looking forward to the second installment in this new series!!

Highly Recommend!!

I love everything @thiswritersays writes, including her new book: The Girl Who Lied. This crime novel is the first in a new series following main character, Police Chief Maggie Riley. The setting is the tiny town of Coyote Cove in Maine. This tiny place is full of people who are trying to keep their secrets hidden. The story is packed with surprises and twists. I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series and highly recommend checking this book out, along with the other books that Shannon has written.

Thank you @bookouture and @netgalley for allowing me to read and listen to this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to #NetGalley, #Bookouture and #BookoutureAudio for the Arc of #TheGirlWhoLied by #ShannonHollinger. I absolutely loves this first book in the Chief Maggie Riley series and cannot wait to start the next one. It had all the things I love on a book-thrills, suspense, lies and murder. Highly recommend this book and all other Shannon Hollinger books!!!!

Engaging start. Maggie Reilly is a small town police chief with secrets to hide. A body is found in the same proximity as a teenage girl covered in blood. Who killed the victim? Why is this teenager covered in blood? Whose blood is it?

The atmosphere was great but the decisions made by some of the characters didn't make sense.
SPOILERS

1. The deputy kidnapping Heather to get his father out of jail? Why?

2. Maggie confessing to a crime she didn't commit? Why? Didn't she know that would draw more attention to herself?

3. The murder mystery could have been solved in the first chapter if the police preserved possible evidence and took Heather's clothes.

Not a bad story I just wish it didn't feel so rushed.

It seemed every character in this book had at least one secret. The reader slowly finds out some of the secrets with a few hinted at for reveal in the next book (hopefully.)

Lt. Murphy's "issues" were not expected or totally understood. The very ending of book one was a surprise.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series as the writer kept my interest in the characters' lives and learning more about their past.

Thanks to Bookouture, NetGalley and Shannon Hollinger, I have a new mystery author to recommend and her series is well worth reading. The Girl Who Lied is book one of the Chief Maggie Riley series starting in August and it is a nail-biter. A man has been found outside of town stabbed to death and while checking the scene of the crime a teenager stumbles into the whole mess. Is she innocent or did she have something to hide? Chief Maggie Riley has to involve the state police but as things move forward it seems like everyone has secrets that may relate to the dead man. If you enjoy Kendra Elliott or Lisa Regan I think you will enjoy this series.

I listened to the audiobook for this one. I liked the narrator, it was easy to follow along. I think I would have liked this book better though had I been reading it over listening. With lots of POVs it got a little confusing. Overall it was a good story that kept you guessing.

I really enjoyed this book, my first by Shannon Hollinger and definitely not my last. I liked Maggie’s interesting and different back ground. It was a good read and it was an exciting and well written with twists and turns I didn’t see coming

What a gripping and hard to put down first book in a new series by Shannon Hollinger! This is how you do it! I was drawn into the story from the very beginning and didn't want to put this down until the very last page! I enjoyed the POV's, the mystery, the use of secrets, and deception in this book.

Chief Maggie Riley knows a thing or two about secrets. She has some, Steve, the man she loves has one, heck everyone in this book does (don't we all?). I thoroughly enjoyed how they all came into play in this book.

Driving home from work one night, Maggie comes across the body of a man who has been stabbed and a local teenager (Heather) standing beside him with a look of horror on her face. His won’t be the only body that is found in this book. Fingers point to Heather initially but soon she is released. Questions swirl, who is the killer, why was Heather there that night, what happened in the woods?

I had both the book and audiobook which made for a very enjoyable reading experience. I thought the narrator of the audiobook did a great job bringing the story to life!

There are a nice number of twists, turns and revelations in this book. This one kept me on my toes doing my own super sleuthing trying to solve the case. I loved how there was more to the characters than meets the eye. They are all flawed, have secrets, and captivating POV's in this book.

I enjoyed the mystery and look forward to reading more of this new series! It is off to a very promising start with a great female lead character in Maggie.

#TheGirlWhoLied #NetGalley #ShannonHollinger #bookouture #bookoutureaudio

I want to start off by saying thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture, and Shannon Hollinger for the approval to listen to and review this audiobook.

The Girl Who Lied is the first book in the Chief Maggie Reilly series. This novel is the perfect dark thriller suspense. Hollinger knows how to write a book that hooks you at the first chapter and keeps you on your toes until the end.

Chief Maggie Reilly left her Florida life four years ago after interfering in a case that was close to her. What happens when murder and truth catch up to her in her new town of Coyote Cove, Maine? Lies, deceit, bonds, and unexpected twists.

After Chief Maggie Riley comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from multiple stab wounds in the forest, she desperately struggles to find the truth and hide hers. But Maggie isn’t the only one with secrets in this small town; everyone is hiding something. Heather, Steve. The Lieutenant, everyone is hiding something.

This audio was hands down a five-star listen; I look forward to the rest of the series. I finished this audio in one day, I was too immersed in the town of Coyote Cove to pause. Hollinger does an excellent job at foreshadowing and giving you just enough information to keep the plot twists as surprises. I loved how this book was not predictable, and the end was shocking and unexpected. The content in this audiobook was a blend of mystery, suspense, and plot twists. The novel was written in multiple POVS, which was well executed to the point there was no confusion about who was who.

The narrator, Amelia Sciandra, did a fantastic job at voicing the many POVS. She did it in a way that allowed me as a listener to know who was who, whether it be an accent, a change in volume, or the diffraction between a child-like or adult voice. Sciandra’s narration worked so well with the twists and turns of the novel.

Absolutely a well-written book and well-executed audio!

The Girl Who Lied (Chief Maggie Riley Book 1) by Shannon Hollinger
Narrated by Amelia Sciandra
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: General Fiction (Adult),Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: August 2, 2023

The Girl Who Lied is the first book in the Chief Maggie Riley series by Shannon Hollinger. This is the first book I've read by the author and I am now HOOKED! This book was filled with so many twists and turns, and when you think everything is wrapped up, it keeps going! This is a fast read and was so good!!!

I absolutely loved the characters! Chief Maggie Riley is fascinating! She's an accomplished woman, who has made a name for herself, but she also has some dark secrets. I can't wait to get to know her more in the future books.

I really enjoyed the narration by Amelia Sciandra. She did a great job bringing this book to life!

If you are looking for a book that that you won't be able to put down, this is it! I know I'll be coming back to this series for more!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Troubled big city detective, Maggie Riley has returned home to small-town Maine, the place her little brother disappeared from five years earlier. Now the police chief of Coyote Cove, Maggie has stumbled across the body of a man and a terrified teenager named Heather, who is unable to speak. When Heather is kidnapped, Maggie knows the clock is ticking if she is to find the killer and save the teen before it’s too late

Maggie Reilly, the chief of police in a small town, has found a body that has been grisly murdered. Not only is there a bloody mess of a body but there is a young girl, Heather standing near him screaming. Of course Heather seems the likely suspect, the town is fast to condemn her but after she is taken into custody, another body is found in the same condition as the first.

Released from custody as she could not be the murderess, she too, goes missing. Has this vicious killer gotten her as well and is it possible there are more bodies to be found?

It's a nightmare for Maggie as she must dredge up her past as a hot shot homicide detective in a big city. What has pushed her to this small town and what is she running away from?

This is a start, a good one, for a new series and with its many twists we learn that liars lie and some of them seem to be masters of their craft.

Thank you to Shannon Hollinger, , Bookouture for the audio copy, and NetGalley. It was a fine story to listen to and is due out on August 2nd, of thi year.

Audio version of this book 📚. This is the first book in The Chief Maggie Riley series each chapter told by the POV of each character. . I did find it a little slow for the first half of the book and did wonder why the book had such good reviews on goodreads, however, the more I listened I realised why ! This book is setting the scene for the main characters to develop in future books .

The narration was good and she did different voices for the characters but I did find her a little robotic

Do you ever feel like you’re on a really lucky run of books? Coz this was another one that I couldn’t put down. The first in a new small town detective series and I can’t wait to read the next. We meet detective Maggie Riley in coyote cove in Maine. Maggie has taken a drive out to try to move some poachers along, what she finds is far more grizzly than that.

This was a complete mind twist, you can’t trust anyone in this town it seems. Every single time I thought the case was cracked I was wrong, I need the next one to figure these people out, that’s how brilliant it was. and that’s how you begin a series leave the people wanting more. Fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookature for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I took this on a long train journey with me, and it was a welcome distraction.
At the beginning, I wasn't sure it would be for me, some of the language felt a bit too flowery or dramatic for my tastes.
Before I knew it though, I was fully sucked in, and invested in all the characters.
There was so much drama and secrets that I almost forgot we were looking for a murderer.
The two main characters have enough baggage to keep us going for a few more books, and I look forward to reading them.
A very satisfactory ending, and overall an entertaining read.
Excellent narration for all points of view.